City officials and political leaders are outraged that council members who won their seats with as much as 89 percent of the vote sucked up $6.5 million in public matching funds this year.
“The use of taxpayer money to finance campaigns with no meaningful opposition should be a matter of great concern for the council,” Campaign Finance Board Chairman Frederick Schwarz wrote City Council Speaker Gifford Miller on Nov. 7.
A CFB analysis found that 10 of 59 council candidates who received matching funds – all incumbents – won their primaries on Sept. 13 with 60 percent or more of the vote.
But that’s not the worst.
Eight council members filed special requests for their full allotment of matching funds – up to $82,500 each – in the Nov. 8 general election, where incumbents are even heavier favorites than in the primary.
Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn), who received matching funds totaling $141,077 as of Oct. 28, annihilated challenger John Whitehead, 89-11 percent. Whitehead raised $11,540 and did not qualify for matching funds.
Barron said he was worried that Whitehead was backed by “entrenched” and “well-financed” political powers.
But a key Whitehead ally, Rep. Ed Towns, stayed neutral.
Whitehead, a sanitation worker, told The Post he tossed in the towel after the primary.
Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) took in $71,000 in matching funds and obliterated rival George Rubin, 87-13 percent.
In a Sept. 23 request for extra matching funds, Seabrook claimed Rubin “is conducting an active campaign as the nominee of both the Republican and Conservative parties and has the backing of Mayor Bloomberg’s high-spending mayoral re-election campaign.”
In fact, Seabrook ended up endorsing the mayor, and Rubin got nothing from Bloomberg.
But Oliver Seabrook collected $44,000 as his brother’s campaign manager, consultant and fund-raiser. The salary came from funds raised by the candidate, leaving the matching funds to pay for other campaign expenses.
All three Staten Island council members filed for their full allotments, arguing that the screwy system forces them to do so.
Councilman Andrew Lanza (R-S.I.) explained that his rival could have qualified for matching funds up to a week before the election, which would have left Lanza at a major disadvantage if he didn’t lock in the full match himself before then.
In the end, each challenger on Staten Island ended up collecting matching funds – and all were clobbered at the polls.
Councilman Mike Nelson (D-Brooklyn) said he had to hit the maximum match because his opponent, Oleg Gutnick, is a millionaire who didn’t join the campaign-finance system and was threatening to spend $250,000. It’s not clear what he spent.
At least one council member, Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), refused any taxpayer funds.
“It’s not appropriate to take the public money if you have a very clear path to victory,” said Brewer, who won with 81 percent of the vote.
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Cashing in
Winning council members who requested additional public matching funds for general election:
Charles Barron (D-B’klyn)
Funds: $141,077
Percentage of vote: 89%
James Oddo (R-S.I.)
Funds: $82,500
Percentage of vote: 78%
Total matching funds paid $6.5M